The 2009 Awards night will take place on April 23rd, at the Kimmel Center for Student Life.

Students may nominate themselves for a variety of awards and scholarships.  All student nominations must be submitted by March 6, 2009.  Please click the following link to apply:  http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/awards

Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

Alisha Ali (Applied Psychology) is a psychologist whose research on depression has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Eli Lilly Foundation, the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. In 2000, she was the recipient of the national Lundbeck Fellow Award for psychiatric research. She is the co-editor of Cultural Perspectives on Women’s Depression: Self-Silencing, Psychological Distress, and Recovery, which will soon be published by Oxford University Press.

Susan Murray (Media, Culture, and Communication) is a scholar of media studies and the author of Hitch Your Antenna to the Stars: Early Television and Broadcast Stardom (Routledge, 2005), and the co-editor of Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture (NYU Press, 2004). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals such as Television and New Media and Cinema Journal.

Awarded Tenure

Allen Feldman (Media, Culture, and Communication) is a political and medical anthropologist who conducts ethnographic and social historical research in the visual culture of violence and political terror, the politics of the senses and embodiment, practice-led media research, media archeology, and the philosophy of media. He has conducted field research and published on the civil war in Northern Ireland, the South African Truth Commission, and homelessness and AIDS in New York City. He is currently writing a book for Duke University Press on the Political Theory of Virtuality and Animality.

Promoted to Professor

Sharron Dalton (Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health) is the author of Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools, and Communities Can Do to Control the Fatness Epidemic (University of California Press, 2004). She studies food choice behavior, the dynamics of body weight management, and international nutrition. Dalton is a member of the School Food Plus Coalition, an advisory group to the NYC Department of Education Office of Food Services. Her publication, “Nutrition Education by Teachers Promotes Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Italian Students,” is a report on a two-year collaboration with elementary schools in a southern Italy health district.

Helen Nissenbaum (Media, Culture, and Communication) is a faculty fellow of the Information Law Institute. She studies ethical and political issues related to information technology and new media, particularly privacy, politics of search engines, and values embodied in technology design. Research grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have supported her research. She regularly participates in multi-disciplinary appraisals of technology, and has served as a member of the National Research Council Committee on Privacy and the Information Age. She is the author of Emotion and Focus (Cambridge University Press, 1985), Computers, Ethics and Social Values (Prentice Hall, 1995), and co-editor of The Internet and the Academy (Peter Lang, 2004). She is a cofounding editor of the journal Ethics and Information Technology.

Promoted to Clinical Associate Professor

Maris Krasnow (Teaching and Learning) is a teacher, mentor, and advocate for children and their families. She is the co-author of Inquiring Into Teaching and Learning: Explorations and Discoveries for Prospective Teachers (Kendall/ Hunt, 2006). Actively involved in school reform, she participated in the design and implementation of an NYU Partnership school in New York City’s Lower East Side and coordinated professional development and evaluation of Head Start Programs through a five-year grant from the Robin Hood Foundation.

Mary Leou (Teaching and Learning) is a national leader in environmental education and the director of Steinhardt’s Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education. She is the author of Readings in Environmental Education: An Urban Model (Kendall Hunt, 2005). She serves on many boards and statewide committees including the Environmental Education Advisory Council, the NYC Science Education Taskforce, and the High School of Environmental Studies. In 2007 she received an Environmental Quality Award from the Environmental Protection Agency for her work in environmental education and conservation.

Catherine Moore (Music and Performing Arts Professions) is a scholar, critic, and music industry consultant, and has served as director of Steinhardt’s music business graduate program since 1997. Titles of recent papers include: “Can Music Quality Be Measured In Business Terms?”; “International Music Marketing as Translation;” “Cultural Variety as Music Business Strategy: Enriching the Repertoire or Pandering for Profit?” and The Composer Michelangelo Rossi: A “Diligent Fantasy Maker” in Seventeenth-Century Rome (Taylor & Francis, 1993).

Lisa Sasson (Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health) directs the graduate clinical master’s program, the dietetic internship, and NYU’s study abroad program in Tuscany, Italy. She was the co-recipient of an NYU Curriculum Challenge Grant, Establishment of a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Module in the Clinical Nutrition Curriculum. She has collaborated with NYU Dental School to create a two-week rotation in the pediatric dental clinic where dentists and dietetic interns work together to improve children’s nutrition and oral health.

Promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor

Jennifer Schiff Berg (Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health) serves as the director of Steinhardt’s graduate program in Food Studies. Recent and forthcoming publications include: Questione di Gusti: A Matter of Taste, for Gambero Rosso (co-editor), a book chapter for The Encyclopedia of Jews in American Culture, and a forthcoming essay on New York City’s iconic foods for Gastropolis: Food and New York City. She co-chairs Days of Taste, a yearly farm-to-table food exploration program for New York City public school students.

David Schroeder (Music and Performing Arts Professions) serves as director of Steinhardt’s Jazz Studies Program. Since 2003, he has worked to build a world-renowned jazz program in Greenwich Village, the world’s jazz mecca. Schroeder leads the eclectic New York Citybased ensemble, Combo Nuvo, where he displays his musical composition skills on multiple woodwinds and brass. As a music producer, he has created the Jazz Master's Series at the Blue Note Jazz Club, and the NYU Jazz Masterclass DVD Series featuring legendary performers including Hank Jones, Clark Terry, Toots Thielemans, Barry Harris, Jimmy and Percy Heath, Cecil Taylor, and Phil Woods.

"We need a paradigm shift, in the manner with which we conduct HIV prevention work," he wrote. "Too often we rely on the tired slogans of the past to advocate for safe sex. But these models no longer work for a generation bombarded with conflicting messages. We need more sophisticated public health campaigns that address safe sex and condom use to which the new generation can relate."

http://nyblade.com/2007/9-28/viewpoint/opinion/

Contact Information

James Devitt
Phone: 212-998-6808
james.devitt@nyu.edu

Selcuk Sirin, an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Psychology, received the Young Scholar Award, a $150,000 grant from the Foundation for Child Development to study parent-teacher perceptions of immigrant Muslim students’ academic competencies in the first three years of schooling. The Foundation for Child Development is a national, private philanthropy dedicated to the principle that all families should have the social and material resources to raise their children to be healthy, educated and productive members of their communities.

At 77, Walter Oerlemans is one of Steinhardt’s oldest graduates. This May, he will earn his MA degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) education — at the same time his daughter, Catharina, will be earning her MSW from NYU’s School of Social Work. Oerlemans, who has worked in NYU’s Office of Financial Aid since 1992, will retire in July. He plans to do volunteer teaching.

“This year we have made an effort to diversify the type of funding available to be better able to capture the variety of disciplines in the Steinhardt School,” said Perry Halkitis, Steinhardt’s director of research. “We hope that the seed money available from these internal grants will serve as a stimulus for our faculty to seek funding through public and private external sources, as well as private donors interested in supporting this type of work. The bottom line is that there are many interesting projects and wonderful ideas among our faculty.”

Faculty may apply for five different awards. Support is offered for pilot studies that show clear promise to yield findings; an arts and culture award supports faculty whose projects may not be able to receive funding through traditional grant mechanisms. Community collaborative awards offer support for researchers working with community- based organizations. In addition, the Office of Research offers a summer grant development award for faculty interested in developing a research proposal, and provides funds for faculty who are developing projects with doctorallevel graduate assistants.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP

• LaRue Allen, Applied Psychology, American Youth in Civic Affairs: A Project Investigating the Influence of Race, Education, and Religious Involvement
• Alisha Ali, Applied Psychology, An Exploratory Investigation of Psychological Correlates in the Transition Out of Poverty
• Sarah Beck, Teaching & Learning, Learning the Genres of History and English: An Action Research Study in Urban Schools
• Norm Fruchter, Institute for Education & Social Policy, Exploring High School Contribution to Success at CUNY
• Charlton McIlwain, Culture & Communication, A Content Analysis of Racial Messages in Televised Political Advertising, 1952-Present
• Aurora Wallace, Culture & Commuication, Blogs and the Crisis of Journalism

SUMMER GRANT DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

• Alisha Ali, Applied Psychology, Investigating the Peer- Lending Model as a Pathway to Self-Sufficiency
• Joshua Aronson, Applied Psychology, Improving School Reform with Social Psychological Interventions
• Bruce Homer, Applied Psychology, The Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse and Stress on the Frontal Lobes and Social Cognitive Functioning of Emergent Adults
• Kristie Lancaster, Nutrition, Feasability of a Church-wide Intervention in an Urban Black Community
• Jacqueline Mattis, Christine McWayne, Applied Psychology, A Community Based Approach for Developing Culturally Relevant Measure of Parenting Competence Among Low-Income African Americans
• Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Assistant Professor, Humanities & Social Science, Generational and Cultural Gaps in Student Teacher Conceptions of National Identity and Civic Engagement
• Jan Plass, Administration, Leadership and Technology, Optimizing Visual Cognitive Load for Science Learning
• Arvind Rajagopal, Culture & Communication, Hindu-Muslim Riots in Gujarat, India: Media Coverage and Its Effects
• Lisa Stulberg, Humanites & Social Sciences, Racial and Academic Identity-Building in Successful African American Public Schools

Interested in learning about research at the Steinhardt School of Education?
Visit our Academic Affairs website at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/office_research/

Perry Halkitis, director of research for the Steinhardt School and professor of Applied Psychology, comments on the rise of blacks experimenting with crystal methamphetamine. The article cites a recent NYU study of 312 crystal meth users.

"The problem has been brewing for the past year, but now it's beginning to boil," Halkitis told the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com

The following students received the stipend to complete their work:

Gabriel Reich, Department of Teaching and Learning
Dissertation title: History Testing and Multiple Choice: An Exploratory Study and Context and Construct

Geffen Godder, Department of Applied Psychology; School Psychology
Dissertation title: Parental Death and Trauma from the Attacks on the World Trade Center and Psychological Functioning in 8- to 12-Year Old Children.

Monique M. Jethwani-Keyser, Department of Applied Psychology; Psychological Development
Dissertation title: School Experience and the Psychological, Behavioral and Academic Well Being of Indian Adolescent Girls

C. Michael Nina, Applied Psychology; Counseling Psychology
Dissertation title: The Relationship of Ego Functions and Personality Traits to Drug of Choice and Degree of Substance Involvement in Gay and Bisexual Club Drug Users

Contact Information

Jennifer Zwiebel
Phone: 212-998-6797
jennifer.zwiebel@nyu.edu

Halkitis is widely recognized for his research into the developmental and psychological aspects of HIV/AIDS, and for encouraging prevention of the disease by gaining a better understanding of the human condition. He directs NYU’s Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies.

Halkitis has received grants funded by the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, the New York City Department of Health, and the American Psychological Foundation. His research on the intersection of gay identity, gender identity, masculinity, and HIV, has appeared in numerous journals and he is the lead editor of HIV and Sex: The Psychosocial and Interpersonal Dynamics Of HIVSeropositive Gay and Bisexual Men’s Relationships (APA, 2005) and Barebacking: Psychosocial And Public Health Approaches (Haworth Press, 2005). Halkitis is the recipient of the Steinhardt’s Griffiths Research and Teaching Excellence Awards, and the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to Research in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community. He has recently been elected a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.

“Perry’s extensive background in conducting research, coupled with his indefatigable determination and level of enthusiasm can only enhance Steinhardt’s research climate,” said Dean Mary Brabeck. “We are very excited to welcome him to this role.”

Cowie, whose fellowship is a training grant to study HIV/AIDS, will be conducting research on the epidemiology of the disease among people of Caribbean descent. “Since recent immigration statistics report that Caribbeans and West Indians represent approximately 50 percent of the Black population in New York City, close attention to the health experiences and practices of people of Caribbean descent are critical in understanding HIV/AIDS in the Black community,” Cowie said.

Jerome’s fellowship is in substance abuse research. He will be examining the relationship between crystal methamphetamine use and sexual behavior in gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men and women in the Black communities. “Because of the strong link between crystal use, risky sexual behavior, and HIV transmission, this drug has become an area of concern to researchers and community-based organizations serving the Black communities,” Jerome said.

A graduate student researches the link between crystal methamphetamine use and men’s mental health

“I am interested in the construction of masculine identity in Western society,” says Roy Jerome, a doctoral student in the Department of Applied Psychology. Working with Associate Professor Perry Halkitis, department chair and director of Steinhardt’s Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Jerome is looking at the connection between masculinity and substance abuse, specifically how methamphetamine (also called ‘crystal’), a stimulant which relaxes inhibitions, contributes to risky and unprotected sexual behavior. Jerome will be interviewing 50 subjects, and asking them about the motivation for their drug use. His findings will become a chapter in a book he is co-editing with Halkitis about the lives of gay men. “What I like about this research project is that we are looking at the link between addictive behavior, risky behavior, and conceptions of manhood,” Jerome said. “In order to understand the logic governing sexual adventurism in men, we must first understand that risk taking often plays a central role in the path to reaching manhood in our society. Risk taking can be one of the principle ways in which a man retains his sense of manhood as an adult.”

After completing his doctorate in counseling psychology, Jerome hopes to lecture and conduct community-based research. (He is also working with Halkitis and a Harlem-based social service agency, doing qualitative and quantitative research on the prevalence of crystal use in the African-American community. The results will help the team to construct culturally appropriate substance abuse interventions.) “I want to continue my research in the field of men’s psychology, substance abuse, and HIV,” Jerome said. “This is a tremendously exciting area of research and has such strong implications for men’s mental health.”

Rene Arcilla, chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Professions. Associate professor of educational philosophy, Arcilla’s current research focuses on developing a philosophical theory of liberal learning. He is the author of For the Love of Perfection (Routledge, 1995) and has published articles on the philosophy of education, liberal learning, existentialism, and modernism.

Judith Gilbride, chair of the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health. Former interim chair, she has served as director of the department’s dietetics program, and has published widely on geriatric nutrition, the training of dietitians, genetics education for health care professionals, and nutritional assessment. She serves as editor of Topics in Clinical Nutrition, a quarterly dietetic practice journal, and is director-at-large of the American Dietetic Association.

Perry Halkitis, chair of the Department of Applied Psychology. Associate Professor Halkitis is an educational psychologist and research methodologist who also serves as co-director of the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), and a research affiliate of the New York University Medical School Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). Halkitis’ research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the New York City Department of Health. He also served as the department’s acting chair for the last two years.